Crysella Andrea Mitchell

Crysella (Cris) Andrea Mitchell was born to the late William and Elizabeth Setterberg on November 23, 1943, in Galveston, Texas. Cris married her best friend and the love of her life, Stanley Ray Mitchell, PhD., on June 18, 1966. She graduated from Benton Harbor High School in 1961, enjoying the "sparkles on the waters" of Lake Michigan. For higher education, she graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in 1965 and the University of Kentucky in 1974 with a K-12 certification in Library Science. Her terminal degree was from Dominican University in 2000 with a MLS, including a concentration in Business Administration and membership in Beta Phi Mu, the National Honorary Scoiety for Library Science.

Cris taught students from fourth grade through adult education. However, she spent most of her adult life as a "librarian." Her diverse experiences ranged from being a Young Adult Librarian and Adult Services Department Head at the Elk Gro e Village Public Library (IL), State of Illinois Library Interloan Section Chairperson for ILA to Branch Manager in the Memphis Library System. During her time as an Administrative Librarian, Cris loved to empower her staff to be the best they could be. Her experiences in "Knowledge Management" and "Total Quality Management" were the cornerstones of her management philosophy.

Her favorite teaching experiences involved middle-school teens. Cris was proactive with her students. For example, she was the faculty sponsor of the "Football Statisticians" (collecting data for the coach while exposing young women to the fundamentals of football), the "Gourmet Club" (educating teens to a variety of cuisines) and the "Library Club" (allowing students to determine books to be purchased for the library).

Many building projects, from professional to personal, involved Cris' creative juices. From the early eighties to the 2000's, Cris participated on teams outfitting, within ADA compliance, one middle-school and two community libraries. In the mid 2000's, Cris helped with the decorating of a new yacht club. She and her husband "severely" remodeled almost every piece of property they owned – removing landscaping and expanding doorways were the simpler of projects.

During high school, Cris played the harp with the local symphony. Because she had played the harp and flute duet from "Carmen," she was invited to play that Bizet piece, in rehearsal, with the Boston Pops when they came to Michigan. Twenty years later, she played the same piece with the Winburn Junior High School Orchestra and two ninth grade flutists. She had a fondness for music and with Stan and friends attended many concerts and ballets. The first ballet Cris and Stan attended together was "Swan Lake" performed by the Bolshoi in Moscow. This is an example of the many diverse adventures taken by the Mitchells – with samplings of culture and cuisine from a guided trip in Morocco to a Southern Caribbean Cruise on a four-masted schooner with 44 sails.

For over fifty years, boating was a huge part of Cris' life. For a decade, she had the privilege of seeing the "sparkles on the water" while imbibing in waterfront living on Illinois' "Chain of Lakes." The final boat was a baby pontoon of eighteen feet that was used to spot wildlife on the St. John's River near DeLand, Florida. Cris, along with her husband, taught boating safety for the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Northern Illinois and, during retirement, participated in activities with the Lake Beresford Yacht Club and the Florida Commodores' Association.

Cris is preceded in death by many sweet kitties and her wonderful, witty and kind husband of over fifty-six years, Stan. She anticipates gather Stan, kitties, friends and relatives from Galveston to DeLand to enjoy the "sparkles on the waters" in the Light of the Hereafter. There will be a private gathering for disbursement of the ashes.